For this year’s edition of its #MakeWhatsNext campaign – again linked to International Women’s Day - Microsoft aims to build on the success of its outreach over the past two years and inject a sense of urgency and scale.

In the videos, Microsoft asks girls about the problems they are most passionate about solving, conveys their excitement about what they could achieve – ranging from finding solutions to climate change to curing cancer - and also the harsh reality: without the necessary STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] skills, they probably won’t solve them.

Currently, only 6.7 percent of U.S. women (and 16 percent of women globally) graduate college with STEM degrees.  The plea to girls? to change the world stay in STEM and #MakeWhatsNext. 

As part of this initiative, Microsoft will introduce new programs and resources on www.MakeWhatsNext.com that will help young girls take the next step in making their STEM dreams a reality, including a new experiential tool being launched by Microsoft and LinkedIn to demonstrate how girls can pursue their passions across industries and social causes.

The campaign created by m:united//McCann launched globally on Tuesday, March 7th, just as International Women’s Day started around the world, and will span broadcast, online/digital, events and social media including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter, which will have a “First View”, a first for Microsoft and Twitter, and a Twitter Conversation Card to showcase the video and drive conversation.